Esporta, the health club chain, will launch a formal auction process next week after receiving several approaches from rival companies, according to The Times.

The newspaper reported that Esporta, which is owned by Duke Street Capital, received bids from rival health club operators Whitbread and Next Generation, as well as private equity companies Cinven and Warburg Pincus.

Peter Taylor, managing partner of Duke Street, was quoted as saying: “We were blown away by the level of interest from a range of different people and have now decided to push the button on a sale of the company as a whole.”

The company, which owns 54 clubs in the UK, is estimated to be worth between £270m and £300m. Details: www.esporta.com

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